"You're right, dark-skinned kid. I'm not much of a shooter." Kotaro Hayama looked at Daiki Aomine, his eyes seemingly ablaze. "But I'm Shibuya First Junior High's Ace—Kotaro Hayama!"
"Teme!" Aomine glared at Hayama, who was surrounded by the phantom outline of a cheetah. He was clearly unhappy with how things had gone just now.
"Alright, don't let it get to you. We'll make up for it next possession. Murasakibara, go inbound." Shuzo Nijimura clapped his hands, dispelling the doubts in everyone's minds.
"Okay." Atsushi Murasakibara obediently went to the baseline and took the ball from the referee, then tossed it to Nijimura. Nijimura caught it and immediately dribbled across half court.
"Nice work just now. To be honest, I've known you for so long, and I had no idea you were this capable, Yamanaka." Nijimura looked at Kazuhiko Yamanaka as he came to meet him, speaking with interest.
Yamanaka smiled but said nothing. He simply stayed glued to Nijimura, wary of his every move.
"Captain!" Just then, Aomine managed to shake off Hayama's tight defense and get half a step of separation. He reached out to call for the ball. Nijimura's eyes flickered, and he sent a no-look bounce pass straight to Aomine.
"Hey, your name's Kotaro Hayama, right? I'll remember you." With the ball in hand, Aomine took the Triple Threat stance and glared at Hayama. His presence began to rise, and on closer inspection, the outline of a black panther was gradually taking shape.
"So you're not calling me Hayama Little Blondie anymore?" Hayama asked with a grin.
"Tch." Aomine scoffed, saying nothing more. He adjusted his stance with a dribble, put a little force into his calves, and shot forward in a flash of blue light.
"He got past him!" The Teiko substitutes on the sidelines burst into cheers.
"No, he hasn't!" A look of denial flashed in Seijuro Akashi's eyes.
"Not a chance!" Hayama gritted his teeth and poured every bit of strength into his legs, staying right on Aomine.
"Damn it... Does this guy think he can shut me down?" Aomine glared at Hayama in frustration. Then he gathered the ball, came to an abrupt stop, and jumped backward to create space, casually flinging the ball toward the hoop. "If I can't drive past him, I'll shoot!"
"That's... Kaneki's move." The Teiko substitutes, accustomed to seeing Ken Kaneki's many different shots during practice, stared in shock.
"That idiot can't make that shot. Does he think those two big guys in Shibuya First Junior High's frontcourt are just standing around?" Shogo Haizaki sneered, his gaze full of mockery as he looked at Aomine.
Just as Haizaki had said, the moment Aomine released the ball, Wei Liu, who had been lying in wait nearby, leaped up to block it. His fingertips grazed the ball just after it left Aomine's hand.
"Damn it! Murasakibara, rebound!" Aomine shouted in frustration.
"Shut up, Ao-chan, you scrub! I know!" Atsushi Murasakibara kept his eyes fixed on the ball and held his ground beneath the hoop. Surrounded by Liu and Daisuke Narumi, he managed to tip the ball toward Shintaro Midorima. "Midori-shin! Watch the ball!"
"I know! You guys are so noisy!" Midorima frowned and leaped toward the falling ball, gathering it into his arms before Keisuke Kobayashi could get there.
"Midori-shin, shoot!" Murasakibara urged him as soon as he saw Midorima grab the rebound.
"...I have my own ideas!" Midorima was nearly at a loss for words. The moment he landed, Kobayashi and Yamanaka closed in on him. With both of them pressuring him, it was hard enough to stay on his feet, let alone shoot. Shoot what, exactly?!
"Midorima, over here!" Seeing Midorima trapped, Nijimura hurried over to help. Midorima saw him and quickly passed the ball out.
"I knew you'd pass!" The instant the ball left Midorima's hands, a streak of yellow flashed in front of him and cleanly intercepted it. "Well done, Wei Liu!"
"Damn it!" Midorima realized what had happened and hurried after him, but it was useless. Hayama easily scored on the fast break, bringing the score to 10–7.
"Shibuya!" "Shibuya!" "Shibuya!" The crowd cheered even louder as Shibuya repeatedly turned Teiko's defensive possessions into fast breaks.
"This is starting to look pretty bad," Shoichi Imagawa remarked, watching the game with a smile. "Of all times, they let the other team score on a fast break while focusing their defense on one player. The gap's narrowed, too. Things won't be easy from here."
Makoto Hanamiya blew a bubble with his gum and spoke casually, looking as if the game had nothing to do with him. "Hard? A team with Ken Kaneki is hard to beat? If anything, this is when Shibuya First Junior High's in trouble. That guy Kaneki isn't exactly some kindhearted pushover."
"But since play resumed, Kaneki hasn't done much, has he?" Imagawa said, pursing his lips skeptically.
"Who knows? But I have a feeling the most terrifying part is about to come. I'm a kind person. I can't bear to watch things get that ugly." Hanamiya rose and headed out. "I'm going. I need to get my bandages changed. If you're not coming with me, remember to tell me how many points Teiko won by."
"You can read about that in the paper yourself." Seeing that Hanamiya was set on leaving, Imagawa stood too. "Getting beaten up by Kaneki seems to have taught you a lot about him. Come on, I'll go with you to change your bandages."
Meanwhile, across from Imagawa and Hanamiya, Reiko Aida and her father were quietly discussing the game in the stands.
"Shibuya First Junior High's power forward is pretty good," Ito Aida said, his eye for talent keen. "He fights hard on defense, moves well off the ball, and knows how to set screens. If he hadn't stopped that dark-skinned kid just now, Hayama wouldn't have had the chance to score on the fast break."
"Kaneki seems to have gone quiet since play resumed," Reiko said curiously. "Shibuya First Junior High has some real momentum now. They might actually win. Look, Dad, they've stopped another possession."
On the court, Murasakibara tried to take on Daisuke Narumi in the post, but he was in too much of a hurry to protect the ball properly, and Hayama stole it. Teiko's players hurried back on defense.
"Kaneki, get back—" Nijimura was about to remind Kaneki, who was still standing blankly in the other half, to get back on defense. But when he saw Kaneki's expression, instinctive fear stopped the words in his throat.
"Dad, Kaneki hasn't gotten back on defense. Has he given up?" Reiko wondered, watching as Shibuya First Junior High attacked five-on-four while Kaneki stood motionless in the backcourt.
"Hey, Reiko." Ito Aida looked at Kaneki's unreadable expression on the court and suddenly spoke. "How's your Chinese?"
"Chinese? Pretty good. Why, Dad?" Reiko looked at him in confusion. "You're not about to quiz me on my studies now, are you?"
"Of course not, silly. I'm going to teach you a Chinese proverb." Ito Aida chuckled, then grew serious. "A wise man keeps his talents concealed until the time is right."
"Dad, you mean..." Reiko said tentatively, as if she had sensed what he was getting at.
"I don't know why Kaneki hasn't made a move until now, but his pride won't let him hold back any longer." Ito Aida watched the streak of golden light stretching across the court and sighed. "So... the time has come!"
Almost at the same moment, Ken Kaneki's low voice rang out behind the Shibuya First Junior High players. "I think... this is where it ends!"
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